Fire at Heemstede agriculture business causing lots of smoke: Kids warned to stay inside

A fire at an agricultural business in Heemstede is causing a lot of smoke in the area on Monday. The emergency services sent out NL-Alerts urging schools to keep kids inside and locals to keep their doors and windows closed and turn off the ventilation.

Emergency services received the first report of the fire on Herenweg at around 6:15 .m. The fire department elevated the alarm at 7:05 and declared a Grip 1 situation at 7:27. Grip 1 means that a single commanding officer is selected to manage all the emergency services at the scene.

Authorities sent out four NL-Alerts between 7:25 and 9:45 a.m. to warn people about the incident, as the threat of smoke expanded from Heemstede in the south to Wijk aan Zee in the north, including IJmuiden, and to Bloemendaal aan Zee and the coastal area in the west.

The fire department is monitoring the smoke, and though it hasn’t found signs of dangerous substances like asbestos yet, the smoke is still harmful. “Advice to schools and childcare institutions in the area, don’t let the children play outside for now,” Veligheidsregio Kennemerland stressed on Twitter. “The fire can cause soot particles to fall. Leave these alone. They’ll be cleaned up later.”

According to NH Nieuws, the fire is in a flower bulb warehouse next to a residential neighborhood. So far, the emergency services haven’t deemed it necessary to evacuate local residents.

Heemstede is in Noord-Holland, just south of Haarlem and west of Hoofddorp and Schiphol Airport.